Collision Repair Trades

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Collision Repair technicians fix damaged auto bodies and parts on all types of automotive vehicles. They remove fixable dents, straighten out bent bodies and replace parts damaged beyond correction. It requires the ability to perform various sheet metal welding and finishing, and a familiarity with paint preparation and refinishing materials.

Collision Repair is a specialized trade requiring formal post-secondary training to use the high-tech equipment and computers. Prospective students should have good reading and basic mathematic skills as technical manuals are often referred to when making very precise measurements. Good problem solving skills are necessary to analyze and diagnose the increasingly complex structures, components and materials used in automobiles.

Every reputable auto body repair shop, new car dealership and custom refinishing business employs qualified Collision Repair technicians. Advances in automotive diagnostic and repair technology have been necessary to work with the unique challenges of today’s automobiles. Many manufacturers use high-strength steel, aluminum and plastic in auto bodies, often requiring repairs according to factory specifications. By relying on benchmark systems, repairers may need to measure each portion of the body before using alignment machines.

The job may include performing a variety of changing duties under a minimum of supervision, analyzing fine details in objects or drawings, and working within precise limits or standards of accuracy after having calculated cost-time estimates. Prospective Collision Repair Trades technicians use the latest industry standard tools and a combination of classroom theory and shop practice to learn the fundamentals of collision damage repair and estimating.